Category: Wu-Tang Clan

Interview: Darkim Be Allah and Endemic Emerald

We may already be a few weeks into the new year but the shitstorm that was 2020 is still having a devastating impact on America. A lot of these issues were covered on Antediluvian King, the album by Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Darkim Be Allah, and producer Endemic Emerald, that dropped in November. We recently spoke to them about that and more.

[The following has been lightly edited for clarity]

Let’s talk about your latest project, last year’s Antediluvian King. Darkim, take us through the concept and theme from the lyrical perspective.

Well Antediluvian means before the flood, so that takes us back to a time when kings were Gods. So on this project you’re definitely getting a lyrical perspective from the point of view of the black man being God of the universe. Everything is brought up to date though. The knowledge and wisdom I’m applying has no birth record. It’s up to date because I’m applying it to what’s going on around us right now. So I’m the Antediluvian King in this day and time on this album.

And Endemic Emerald, tell us how you set about providing the soundtrack for Darkim’s vision.

After the first couple of joints I knew the angle I had to go for sonically. It took a little while to hone in on the specific sound Darkim required, but once we got going I knew the joints he was going to choose. Towards the end when we were finishing up the album I would just bring one beat down to the lab, knowing it would make the cut.

Darkim; People have talked how relevant a lot of Killer Mike and El-P’s lyrics on RTJ4 summed up how shitty 2020 was, but they wrote those songs pre-2020. There’s also a lot of relevance to the events of last year in your writing on Antediluvian King, but again, you wrote this before everything that’s happened. Can you speak on that?

It’s probably because in a lot of ways 2020 was the result of a lot of things getting more and more intense. Meaning it’s been happening all along but last year it was in your face in a bigger way that can’t be ignored. There’s been virus scares every couple of years since the ‘90s. I’ve never been through a pandemic before though. There’s been police violence, but never caught on tape as graphically as in 2020. There’s been civil unrest but we hadn’t seen worldwide revolts like in 2020. So if you’re the type of artist that’s in tune with what’s going on, you’re right on time because humanity as a whole is going through a lot.

You have some heavyweight guest features on the new album with Planet Asia and two joints with Tragedy. How did you choose who would make a good fit for this particular project?

Well first things first those are my brothers so it’s a good fit because it’s natural for us to be able to work together. As far as these particular songs go, I gotta give Endemic most of the credit. He’s been working on a lot of projects for No Cure Records. So there’s all kinds of feature combinations I know people are gonna love. The guest appearances on my album came out of us just being in the studio, doing what we do.

You also produce, and you made the beat, “Twelve Jewelz” on The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel, the second album by one of my favourite groups of all time, Gravediggaz. It’s a RZA solo track, and he gets very deep. Considering how by this point he was already seen as one of hip-hop’s greatest producers, was that intimidating to produce just for him?

Not intimidating. It was definitely an honor then and it still is. I’ve been fortunate enough to have those types of high points in my story. I’ve been blessed to have had the opportunity to work with and earn the respect of a lot of high calibre people in music.

Endemic; I read that you and Darkim recorded a project several years ago that got lost in a dreaded hard drive crash. Was it a complete loss, or might we get to hear what that would have sounded like, one day?

Yeah we still have the demos as .mp3s, but they’re just rough mixes. I think we’ll drop at some point as a free download.

Working on a one emcee/one producer album like Antediluvian King gives you the chance to create a much broader, cohesive sound, rather than a bunch of beats that might get placed on different projects with different artists. Is that how you approach an album like this?

Most definitely. I like to make the tracks with the artist in mind. The overall sound was fleshed out in the early stages. Most of the tracks were produced using samples from ‘70s German progressive rock. I had a dope collection at the time and every new track just flowed out naturally.

Putting together an album in 2020 must have been way tougher than usual. How did being in the pandemic effect the process of making an album, getting it pressed on wax etc, for you?

Not too differently really. There were a few delays in getting in the lab at one point, but after that it was cool. We use a vinyl plant out of London and there were never any delays in the pressings or shipping. What did affect things most was pushing the release date back in hope of the nightlife scene reemerging, so we could throw a release party and set-up shows. That part has been the biggest disappointment as far as I’m concerned.

What’s next for each of you?

[Darkim] Next for me is my King Crush EP, which will be another solo project.

[Endemic] I’m releasing No Cure Records’ first ever released full length, Terminal Illness on vinyl in early 2021. It came out in 2009 but never saw a vinyl release, so I’m hyped for that. Some dope features on here too from the likes of Sean Price (RIP), Planet Asia, Killah Priest and Hell Razah, among others.

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Antediluvian King is out now, and you can get it here. Follow Dakim Be Allah on Twitter and Instrgram. Follow Endemic Emerald on Twitter and Instagram. Interview by Grown Up Rap Editor Ben Pedroche.  

Interview: Preservation

Preservation is perhaps best known for his extensive work with Mos Def, his production for the GZA, Roc Marciano, Your Old Droog, Mach-Hommy, billy woods and countless others, and for being one half of Dr. Yen Lo with Ka. His most recent album, Eastern Medicine, Western Illness, is possibly his finest album yet. He recently spoke to Gingerslim about the project, and how it was influenced by Preservation’s time in Hong Kong.

How’s everything gone with the release so far? I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews in circulation.

It’s been good. Feels great to finally have it out on all platforms and physical.  Specifically I’m really proud of how the limited edition double cassette came out.  I always wanted to do a custom packaging with an exclusive element which is the beat tape.

I read that the album was created from a challenge you set yourself, where you wanted to make a project solely using records you had found while digging in Hong Kong. I was wondering what sort of records you had to work with initially and were they fairly typical finds for Chinese record shops?

A lot of the local records I was discovering in Hong Kong did not have much variation in styles of music, so it made it a challenge to find the right loops and pieces that would work with my style and the MC’s I was envisioning for the record. I had to listen to a lot of music before I found that one gem that popped out amongst the rest, so creatively it made me have to dig deeper. Most of the music from the 60’s and 70’s were based on what was popular at the time. Cha Cha, Go Go etc.. Most of the lyrics were sung in Mandarin with a lot of the records coming from Taiwan and Singapore. Then in the 70’s more songs were being recorded in Cantonese developing into Cantopop created in Hong Kong.

What had drawn you to Hong Kong initially?

I first went in 96 to visit a friend but later I came a few times to do shows with Yasiin Bey. Then in 2014 my wife relocated for her job to the Hong Kong office. Initially it was going to be a 6 month stay but ended up being 3 years. I always had a connection with the city growing up watching movies from there and being fascinated with the culture.

With regards to the album’s title, what do you view as the West’s illness and does the East really hold the cure / answers?

First and foremost my intention was to put what I consider the illest Mc’s from the west on the sounds of the East. During my 3-year stay starting in 2014, I witnessed the student umbrella protest movement in HK, mirrored with the negative news coming in from the West including Trump’s election, mass shootings and the continued police oppression and killing of black lives. The act of creating was my solace.  I feel there is a different way of going about healing in the East through more handed down traditional methods and also a strong respect for family. Turn on the TV and it’s obvious no region in the world holds the cure, but for me this experience was therapeutic and hopefully that resonates with the listeners.

The list of guest spots is beyond impressive. Did you have a fairly good idea of who you wanted to work with when you started production, or did it evolve more organically as things progressed?

I created a list of people I knew and worked with in the past and also artists that I was listening to at the time I was living in Hong Kong, like Tree, Mach, Grande etc… Ka was instrumental in bringing the album together and making a lot of those connections with artists I didn’t know personally. Most of the time I make music with people I already have a relationship with but in this case a lot of the artists were inspiring the sound I was making for the album so I was open to making new relationships through the music.

Did the album lead you in any new directions that you hadn’t envisioned when you began working on it? Did you notice any shift in your usual production techniques or anything like that?

In the past, I was doing music with loops and no drums, then during the Dr. Yen Lo sessions, I was learning a lot from Ka about opening things up even more and letting samples just ride. My thing is layering and creating a collage of sound. For Eastern Medicine, Western Illness, I felt like I was bringing some of the elements I used to do before and after Yen Lo and trying to blend them including adding drum loops here and there.  I think “A Cure For The Common” and “Lemon Rinds” capture that direction.

What is the Hong Kong hip hop scene like in general; is there much struggle with censorship or anything like that? For example, are there any politically-minded local artists making music?

Hong Kong has a large EDM scene stemming out of a heavy disco/club culture coming out of the 70’s and 80’s. Hip Hop isn’t that popular but has a small underground community. The Graffiti and street art element is very big and the B-boy scene got some things going on as well. There is a group called LMF from the 90’s still doing their thing. I think it was the only Chinese speaking Hip Hop group signed to a major label at the time. A lot of the younger mc’s now are doing the trap sound with some doing boom bap sound as well. As far as the lyrics go, I’m not exactly sure what most of the content is, but I would guess that some of it is speaking about certain day to day issues and political oppression. Censorship is definitely becoming an issue more and more especially with recent events including the student movements and the Hong Kong national security law.

Sticking with that subject, how did you and Young Queenz end up working together?

It was important to me to have a local Hong Kong artist be a part of this album and represent and draw the listener into the city. I was combing through YouTube videos of Hong Kong rappers, but couldn’t really find anyone that could match the vocal tones I anticipated would end up on the album. I asked Gary Leong who runs White Noise Records, a local vinyl shop that specializes in new music. He mentioned Queenz and hit me with his cd. It was heavily influenced by 90’s hip hop and you could tell he studied the craft – but it was his voice which stood out. Heavy and raspy, so automatically I felt that he could fit in the sound of the album.  Turned out that a friend knew his manager and made the link. I went to go see him perform at one of the few underground music venues in Hong Kong. The place was packed to capacity and headlining was LMF, the veteran hip hop group. Young Queenz took the stage with his crew, Wildstyle records and did a whole trap set. I wasn’t expecting that kind of sound because of the CD’s boom bap sound but saw in the moment that he was a special artist taking full control of the stage and audience.

I was wondering if you have any aspirations to use this creative model in any other countries?

Hong Kong is a great jumping off city to visit other countries in the region and I took advantage of that during my stay. So, I’ll definitely be releasing some projects related to the music I was fortunate enough to acquire during my travels.

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Eastern Medicine, Western Illness is out now on Nature Sounds. Visit Preservation’s site for more about his music, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Gingerslim has been a hip-hop fan since 1994 and has written for various blogs and websites since around 2006. During that time he has contributed to The Wire, style43, Think Zebra, Headsknow, Front Magazine and more. His main interests in rap are UK hip-hop and the underground movement in America, with a focus on Rhymesayers Entertainment and the once mighty Def Jux label. He lives in Bristol and has a beard. All other details are sketchy at best. Read his own hip-hop blog and follow him here.